Welcome to the World of Broadband!

From Jon:

Charles,

I enjoy your articles and promise to
tip you sometime! I can tell you that the move from dial-up to
broadband in our household was a welcome change. I just about take it
for granted these days and forget that many people still use dial-up. I
have the same Belkin Wireless router you have pictured in the article,
and it has been very reliable. In fact, it is about 3-1/2 years old
now. Obviously Belkin has a winner with that router, as they are still
making it. All this to say, welcome to the world of broadband! I'm sure
you'll notice a huge difference in how if affects your work flow,
etc.

Jon
Low End Mac Fanatic

Hi Jon,

Thanks for the greeting, and nice to hear a positive
report about the Belkin router.

So far (nearly two weeks now) this wireless broadband
performance has been flawless, and I've seen speed as high as about
1,300 kbps.

I'm already beginning to take it for granted.
:-)

Charles

Broadband (Finally!)

From Robert:

Hi Mr. Moore:

Congratulations!

I've followed your columns at Low End Mac for years, although
haven't had anything to write to you about for ages.

We've had Bell broadband installed here in Ingonish, just last week
as it happens. Speed is quite decent, and no problems yet. I'm using an
AirPort Express (n) and see no reason to password protect
hereabouts.

iPhone 3G works well with Skype. Rogers doesn't cover Ingonish - its
signal is lost past Englishtown - so that's helpful.

Robert

Hi Robert,

Glad to hear broadband has made it to Ingonish as
well. Rogers 3G doesn't work here, making iPhones a bit superfluous. A
friend who was here with his recently wasn't even able to phone out.
The signal peters out about 35 miles north of here.

Charles

New High Speed Internet

From Chris:

Congratulations to your new high speed Internet: I am sure that it
will make life easier in the long run. I have experimented with
wireless ways of getting high speed connections, but I must say that I
am not very satisfied with the experience over here in Germany.

Living in a rural area, it seems as if we've got left behind again.
We have got DSL, but it only runs at 374k, and German telekom isn't
interested in making it any better where I live.

Good luck and greetings from Germany

Chris

Hi Chris,

Thanks, it is making a big difference already.

The wireless broadband I'm getting here at home is
faster than the WiFi hotspot (router broadcasting a DSL connection) at
the local library by quite a bit I think, at least by seat-of-the-pants
measure, so to speak. Speed at the library also is highly dependent on
how many users are logged on at a given time. Best to get there during
closed hours, but a trip that I hope will be no longer necessary for
me.

Charles

Broadband

From Andrew:

Charles,

Congratulations!!!!! Brought back fond memories of first
going wireless (dialup over AirPort) and then broadband. Its only been
about 8 years since I went broadband, but it seems like 80 since I've
had to use dialup.

Welcome to the modern world.

Andrew

Hi Andrew,

Thanks. Nice to be here finally. :-)

Broadband in the Philippines

From David:

Charles

Read your latest on Low End Mac.

Glad to hear you are now in the fast lane. It sounds like your
broadband solution is similar to that we have in our home in the
Philippines. We use a service called Smart Bro, the "bro" I think
stands for broadband. We do not have a landline in our home. Instead,
my ISP put an antenna on our roof that talks to a local mobile phone
tower. You need to have line of sight to their mobile phone towers.
Smart also does mobile phone service in the Philippines. For nearly
four years we have had hardly a hiccup. It has been very reliable and
reasonably fast. Fast enough for Vonage voice over IP.

DSL would be faster, but almost twice the cost. Locked into a
promotional rate of 788 Pesos a month (about $16 at the current
exchange rate), a pretty good rate.

Life and ministry are going very well here in the Philippines -
living out our purpose and fulfilling our destiny.

blessings to you brother,
David

Hi David,

Delighted to hear the missionary effort is going
well.

Yes, sounds like you're on a similar setup. I assume
there is a sightline to the tower, although it's through a stand of
trees. The installer couldn't get a visual to the tower, but it's gotta
be there behind those trees, because we're getting a good strong
signal.

Also good to hear that yours has been reliable. I hope
this service will be as well.

Charles

Wireless Broadband Is Fast

From Mike:

Hi Charles

Congratulations on joining the world of wireless broadband. I
suspect that you will find, as I've found in rural Alberta, that it's
very quick (faster, in fact, than my office in Calgary) and much more
reliable than the satellite versions. The one downside that I've found
with it is that when the power goes out, so does the Internet (as with
all broadband). In the city, that's not so much of a big deal, but out
here in the sticks it goes off at least a couple of times a month. I'm
going to experiment with UPS systems this winter to see what comes of
it - any thoughts?

Who does the wireless out there? It's a different style antenna from
what I've seen in the past.

Cheers,
Mike

Hi Mike,

Thanks. I'm finding it very fast as well, and when my
daughter and I ran simultaneous speed tests using this site the other day during a
phone conversation, I was getting nearly four times the speed she was
on a city connection.

The power outage issue is something I hadn't thought
of until now, however. I think I could probably power the wireless
modem and router off a battery pack using my inverter (low-tech UPS),
but I suppose it's dependent on whether the tower is powered off the
local grid exclusively (probable, I would think).

One advantage of dialup! I've never had it go down
through any power outage (many) over the past dozen years. Could be a
good reason for hanging on to the cheapest dialup plan available.

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We believe in the long term value of Apple hardware. You should be able to use your Apple gear as long as it helps you remain productive and meets your needs, upgrading only as necessary. We want to help maximize the life of your Apple gear.